Folding box construction



2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 24, 1939. c. R. wl-:lLLr-:R

FOLDING BOX CONSTRUCTION,

Filed Sept. 14, 1936 ZVz' Oct. 24, 1939.

l c. RQ wElLLER FOLDING BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 14, 1936 2SheeiS-Shee'i'l 2 supplant assembled into a rectangular box form by the25 Y The main object of this invention are to provide user. 25 animproved box construction of relatively light As shown in the drawings,the side walls are Patented Qct. Z4, 1939 UNED STATESS ATENT OFFIEFOLDING BOX CONSTRUCTION Charles Robert Weiller, Evanston, Ill.

- Application September 14, 1936, Serial No. 100,665

6 Claims. (Cl. 217-16) This invention relates to folding box construc-Fig. 6A is a similar view showing another foldtions and particularly tosuch devices of the able corner arrangement. Wrap-around type havingpanels comprising sheet Fig. '7 is a partly sectional elevation showingmaterial of relatively large areas. the manner in which the box ispositioned around The problems of box manufacturers in devisthe articleto be housed. 5 ing constructions employing relatively thin, light- Fig.8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the weight sheet materials, as asubstitute for wood, upper end of a container showing the top panel inbox wall panels, have resulted in many satisarrangement. factorysolutions for boxes or containers of small Fig. 9 is a perspective viewof the top panel.

l0 or medium sizes. However, these constructions In the form shown inthe drawings, my im- 10 have proved unsuitable for containers of largeproved box construction comprises panel sections sizes, or forapplications where the Weight of the each including a mat of sheetmaterial, and a boxed articles or products, per unit of volume, framestructure made up of transversely and lonislarge, gitudinally extendingcleats which are suitably 15. The failure of these constructions in sucha secured together, so as to provide a composite 15, case is dueprimarily to lack of strength in the structure of great strength withlightness of large areas of the container walls, and to insufll- Weight.ciency of the container frame structure; and when The sheet materialcomprising the wall panels the frame structure was suitablystrengthened, of the box mat may be sheet metal, ber board,

it was found that the container weight and cost of corrugated board, orany other suitable mate- 20 manufacture were so increased that thedevices rial, and may bein several sections joined together were nolonger competitive with the heavy allin any of the several suitable waysWell known wood constructions which they were intended to in the art,but adapted or arranged to be readily weight and great strength; toprovide an impreferably made up of two mats each comprising provedwrap-around box construction; to protwo adjacent sides or panels of thecompleted box. vide such a construction having an improved Each matconsists of a single piece of the sheet frame or supporting structure;to provide an immaterial I scored transversely on one side as in- 30proved lightweight, totally enclosed container dicated at 2 and on theopposite side as at 2-I adaptable for constructions of large sizes; toprot0 divide the Said Sheet into tWo portions or vide an improved box orcontainer frame that panels comprising the Side Walls. I-l and I-2, willmaintain its strength and shape independentor l-S and l-4 of the box.Transversely ex- 1y of the material forming the box walls; and totending CleatS 3, 3|, 3-2, 3-3, and 3--4 are 35 provide an improved boxconstruction arranged disposed on what is to be the outer side surfacetointert andlnterlock withaseparate end panel 0f the met. and theseCleats are 0f relatively after the box has been partially assembled andhefWY Stmk andare S0 distributed that they Will the article to beenclosed has been mounted upon femfor the Corners 0f the bOX and thePanel said end panel. Walls between corner edges. The cleats 3-l, 40

A specific embodiment of this invention is 3"2 3 3 and 3 4 as shownextend from end shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: to end ofeach Wall panel and thus as Shown Fig. 5 provide vertical columns whichex- Flg. 1 1s an lnnerside vlew of the s1de wall mats. m Fig 2 is anedge View of the Same as Seen from tend from end to end of the foldedbox at each side of each corner thereof. Also the scored 45 the bottQmof Flg' 1' lines 2 and Z- are spaced apart a distance sub- 45 Flg- 3 1sa top plan of the bottom or lower end stantially equivalent to thethickness of the corllallfl- .Y ner cleats 3-I, for the purpose offolding the Wall F1a 471s a SectlOn 0f the Same 0n 11n@ 4 4 0f panelsback upon each other as will be described.

F1g. 3 n As shown, the panels may be provided with ine 50 F1g 5 1S aperSDeCtU/e VleW 0f the 51de Wal] mats termediate cleats 3 in additionto the corner partlyvassembled. l cleats 3 4, 3--2, 3-3 and -li for thepurpose 'Fig-'6 iS a SeCtOIISJ detail ShOWillg lfl d0ttd 'of providingadditional vertical strength where 'outline how the side wall mats maybe folded necessary, and according to the nature of the ar- 55 forknock-down shipment ror storage. ticle to be enclosed in the box.Certain of the 55 cleats are preferably extended beyond the lower orbottom edge of the mat that forms the side Walls to interi-lt with thebottom frame, as will be described.

On its inner side each wall mat has a plurality of cleats d and Il iwhich extend from side to side of the several wall panels at rightanglesto the vertical cleats and are of the same length as the respective wallpanels are wide.. The cleats are disposed adjacent the top edge of themats which are flush with the upper ends of the vertical cleats, and thebottom cleats 4 I lie along the mat edge but are spaced upward from theends of certain vertical cleats as will be hereafter described.

The ends or" the respective cleats 4, as shown, are notched or miteredor otherwise shaped so that the cleat ends will abut or intert with eachother and form a square joint when the mat is folded. Any suitablearrangement for joining the ends of these cleats may be employed.However, as shown, the ends of cleats 4 and 5 are arranged for ship-lapengagement with each other because under handling of the box thesecleats must sustain a large portion of the weight of the article to behoused within the box. The bottom end cleats i may be merely mitered orabutted at their ends to make a square joint since they are seated ingrooves in the framing members of the bottom panel. Y

In the form shown, an intermediate series of horizontal cleats 5 is alsoprovided on the inner surface of the side wall mats. These cleats 5 aredisposed on the wall panels I I, I Z and 3 only. The corresponding cleaton the rear or last side wall panel I- in the series is omitted for areason that will be hereafter explained. Additional cleats 5 i may beemployed when required.

As indicated in the drawings, the outer vertical cleats and the innerhorizontal cleats are rigidly secured together by nails, staples, wirestitching, or other suitable means, which extend from one set of cleatsthrough the sheet material comprising the wall panels, and into thecleats on the opposite side of the panel, the staplesvor securing meansbeing used at every point at which a cleat on the inner surface of themat opposes a cleat on the outer surface. Thus a substantially rigidframe is provided that is practically independent of the sheet materialforming the wall panels for its sustaining strength, but the sheetmaterial is also stapled to the cleats so as to form a strong compositestructure as a whole.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the lower or bottom end panel for the boxconstruction comprises a plurality of relatively heavy Slat-like membersB, spaced apart, and arranged parallel toeach other in the nature of arectangular grid, the shape and area of which is designed to close thefree area of the end of the structure formed by the erected side wallmats. Upper and lower frame members 'i and f i are disposed across theends of the grid members 6, and are arranged to overhang the same adistance substantially equivalent to the thickness of the bottom cleatson the mats l. The wide bottom bars 'I l extend beyond the edges of barsl and are notched to receive the extended lower ends of the verticalcleats. The ends of the cleats 1, likewise are arranged to overlap orextend beyond the side edges of the outermost grid members -(i so as tooverlap theY cleats i on the` side walls. The cleats 'I l are alsonotched Yat'their ends to receive the vertical cleats 3 1, 3 2, 3 3, and

3 4. The membersY 1 and 1 being spaced apart by the slats 6 providealined peripheral grooves or channels 8 to receive the cleats 4 I at thebottom edges of the side Wall mats.

As shown in Fig. 4, a layer of sheet material 9 is fastened to the gridbars 6 and closes the inner surface of the bottom end panel to preventmoisture, dust and dirt from entering the box through the said endpanel.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the top panel or cover of the box comprises arectangular frame of grid form, of such proportions that it will t intothe top end of the erected box and its grid cleats i9 are extendedbeyond its end cleats il and rest in notches iB i cut in the upper edgesof the top cleats f1, as shown in Fig. 8, the thickness of the covercleats i and Il being each approximately one-half that of the uppermostcleats t. Sheet material i2 is provided on the inner side of the coverframe between bars Il, so as to completely close the upper end of thebox.

Thus, when the top end panel is set into the f otherwise completelyfabricated so that the user v can readily erect the vbox around thearticle which he desires to pack.

The hereindescribedv construction lends itself, with slight modication,to the expedient of forming all of the side walls in a single mat but Iprefer to make the side walls in the form of two mats, eachcomprisingrtwo panels corresponding in size to the corresponding sidesof the finished box and foldable on a scored line 2 and a spaced,oppositely scored line 2 l in the sheet material. which reinforce thenarrower side wall panels and are located adjacent the main fold line 2lie next adjacent to the said fold line, while the corresponding cornercleats 3 2 of the wider side wall panels are spaced away from said foldline 2 a sufficient distance to allow these two panels to be folded backupon each other on the line 2 and 2 1 as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 6A,without having any of the vertical cleats inter` fere with each other.YThe spacing of the cleats of bars 3 5 and 3 2, relative to each otherand to permit such folding of the mats, is substantially equal tothe sumof the thickness andl Width of one of the bars; and when these mats arethus folded, the parts can all be Yassembled in a package having ahorizontal area of about To this end, the cleats 3 1 4'5.

the same size as the size of the largest side wall panel.

When the user desires to erect the box about kan article, such as arefrigerator illustrated, he

mounts the refrigerator in its iinal position upon the bottom panel ofthe box and secures its legs to this bottom panel by appropriatelylocated bolts i4 and then sets the side wall panels in place around thisbottom panel.

As shown in Fig. '7, the article being packed inA 'place of the cleat 5that is omitted in the righthand panel of Fig. l. The ends of this crossbar are notched to intert with the adjacent ends of the cleats of thenarrower Wall panels l-l and |-3 and thus the refrigerator or otherarticle contributes to the support of the container.

When the side wall mats are unfolded from the folded position in whichthey are shown in Fig. 6 tothe position in which the narrower panel |3has been swung through an arc of 270 with respect to the wider panel,then these two panels Will stand at right-angles to each other as shownin perspective in Fig. 5 with the ship-lapped ends of their horizontalcleats 4 and 5 overlapping and intertting with each other and with thebeveled ends of the bottom cleats 4-I abutting in mitered relation. Thelower cleats 4-I are then pushed into the grooves I6 provided for themin the edges of the base panel frame; then the extended ends of thevertical cleats 3 will i'lndr seats in the notches I1 provided for themin the outer margins of the frame member 'l-I of the bottom panel.

The second side wall mat is handled in a similar manner and the two sidewall mats are fastened together by screws I8 in holes previously boredin the projecting marginal portions of the edge cleats 3 3 which overlapthe adjacent cleats 3 4 of the adjoining panels .in the manner shown inFig. 8.

'Ihe cover panel is now dropped into place with the overhanging ends ofits bars H) seated in the notches lli-l provided for them in the cleats4 of the side walls and with their cleats l I lying inside of andadjacent the lower portion of these notched cleats il and with theiroutermost side bars if! lyingalong .and parallel with the upper cleats 4of the wide sides of the box. The cover is now fastened by means of fourscrews LS adjacent to its four corners and the bottom is similarlyfastened by screws connecting its frame work with the frame work of theside panels at appropriate places. K

It will be readily seen that the box construction herein shown anddescribed provides a container of great strength and durability: that isparticularly adaptable for articles of large sizes, the structure beingsuch that the sheet material of which the wall panels are made servesmainly as a covering to keep out dirt and dust. The frame of the boxprovides the strongest protection against damage to the article enclosedwithin it and becausel of the arrangement wherein vertical andinterlocking horizontal members are rigidly secured together at everypoint where they cross or are opposed to each other the danger ofbreaking or collapsing during handling or shipping is substantiallyobviated regardless of the size or weight of the article.

The sheet material may be paper, corrugated board, sheet metal, wood,composition or fibre board, or any other convenient material and costcan be the deciding factor without detracting from the strength ordurability of the container.

Another feature of the improved construction is the removable bottom endpanel upon which the article to be packed may be mounted before thecovering or enclosure is applied; and the ease and simplicity with whichthe said end panel is rigidly incorporated into the box structurewithout handling of the articley during the boxing operation. Thisfeature is also of great convenience in the unpacking operation whereinthe enclosureis readily stripped from the article while the same isresting upon its base and without the necessity of handling of thearticle.

Further advantages are found in the fact that the box may be shipped ina knocked down state and in at elements that can be readily stacked andstored, thus preserving al1 of the features of the usual flat-folding,ship-lapping container construction in a container that is of a sizehitherto incompatible with such devices.

Although but one specic embodiment of this invention is herein shown anddescribed, it will be understood that details of the construction shownmay be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of theinvention as dei-ined by the following claims.

I claim:

l. A box mat comprising a sheet of material divided into two adjacentpanels by a corner fold line, individual frame structures forreinforcing said panels and each frame structure comprising a barextending parallel with and near said fold line, said bars being spacedapart a distance substantially equal to the sum of the width andthickness of one of said bars, and one of said panels having anoppositely creased fold parallel with said corner fold and spacedtherefrom a distance equal to the thickness of said one bar.

2. A box construction comprising a plurality of side walls foldablyconnected together in pairs and having cleats extending transversely ofthe wall series, said cleats being disposed on the outerside of saidside walls and there being a cleat adjacent each margin of each sidewall parallel with the line of fold, end cleats on the innerside of eachof said side walls arranged in series adjacent and parallel with thelongitudinal margins of said wall series, the ends of said end cleatsbeing arranged to intert with each other upon folding of said wallseries to form a box, fastening means rigidly securing the outersidecleats to the innerside cleats at points where the said cleats areopposed to each other, an end wall arranged to t one end of said box andhaving a peripherally disposed and extending groove arranged tointerlockingly receive the respective end cleats of the folded sidewalls, and another end wall arranged to t the other end of said box andengage said end cleats thereof.

3. In a shipping container, an end wall construction comprising aplurality of parallel members arranged with their ends in transversealignment, upper and lower frame members disposed across the ends ofsaid parallel members at each end thereof, said upper and lower framemembers each overhanging the ends of said parallel members and the endsof said frame members overhanging the side edges of the outer ones ofsaid parallel members whereby a peripheral channel is formed in said endwall.

4. In a shipping container, an end wall construction comprising aplurality of spaced parallel members arranged in the form of arectangular grid, upper and lower frame members disposed across th'eends of said parallel members at each end thereof, said upper and lowerframe members each overhanging the ends of said parallel members apredetermined distance and the ends of said frame members overhangingthe side edges of the outer ones of said parallel members apredetermined distance whereby a peripheral channel is formed in saidend wall.

5. A box construction comprising a plurality of side walls foldablyconnected together and having outerside cleats extending parallel withthe line of fold, a cleat on each wall being adjacent the line of fold,end cleats on the inner side of each of said Walls arranged adjacent andparallel with the bottom margin thereof, the end cleat of one wall beingaligned with the end cleat of the adjacent wall, an end wall arranged tot one end of said box and comprising a plurality of parallel membersarranged in the form of a rectangular grid, and upper and lower framemembers disposed across the ends of said parallel members at each endthereof and arranged to overhang the ends of said parallel members andthe side edges of the outer ones thereof whereby a peripheral channel isformed in said end wall arranged t0 interlockingly receive and t the endcleats of the *folded side walls.

6. A box construction comprising a plurality of side walls foldablyconnected together and having outerside cleats extending parallel withthe line of fold, a cleat on each wall being adjacent the line of foldand the ends of certain of said cleats extending beyond the bottomvmargin of said walls, end cleats on the inner side of each of saidwalls arranged adjacent and parallel with the bottom margin thereof, theend cleat of one wall being aligned with the end cleat of the adjacentWall, an end Wall arranged to iit one end of said box and comprising aplurality of paraliel members arranged in the form of a rectangulargrid, and upper and lower frame members disposed across the ends of saidparallel members at each end thereof and arranged to overhang the endsof said parallel members and the side edges of the outer ones thereofwhereby a peripheral channel is formed in said end wall arranged tointerlockingly receive and t the end cleats of the folded side Walls,the lower ones of said frame members extending beyond the margins of theupper ones thereof and having marginal slots disposed and arranged toreceive and t the extending ends of said outerside cleats.

. CHARLES ROBERT WEILLER.

